Sees Digital, Feels Analogue

I started photography with my DSLR, I took thousands of pictures with it in the past few years. When I was planning to further upgrade my camera and lenses, my girlfriend handed over to me a Diana Mini…..

I like to take pictures with my DSLR, basically just get some basic knowledge of how to operate it, then, press the shutter with zero pressure. After every shot what we normally will do is that, preview the pictures, pick the nice few, delete the rest!

I started to think more and ‘feel’ more when come to analogue photography. I know the Lomography motto ‘don’t think just shoot’, but with analogue camera, I really started to think and feel before I press the shutter. But this ‘think’ is very much different from taking digital picture.

With a digital camera, a good photographer will probably think of the framing techniques and all sorts of camera setting before taking each shot. But when I shoot with my Diana Mini, it really brings me back to the very basic of photography. I start to think and roughly calculate my exposure and ‘feel’ the light passing through the plastic lens and aperture, burning the emulsion. And I imagine the output of every picture I took.

As an appointed photographer in Church and part-time photographer, I still use my DSLR and different lenses to take pictures for Church activities and for my clients. But in my daily life, I prefer to carry along my little lomo film camera. Bottom line is that I don’t need high mega pixels and very sharp picture to show my client.

I like the convenience and flexibility of digital camera, but I also enjoy using the ambient light to paint each and every film, rewind it back after each roll, sending it to the lab and anticipating the result. After the whole long process from the press of shutter to the developed result, no matter how it comes out, I still love and appreciate each shot, just like how a painter appreciate and value each of his work.

4 Comments

nice article. i too started off digitally with a Canon 450D a couple years ago and am enjoying my Lubitel 166V. although like you, i take the time to create every image and not just wild non-thinking shooting. :)

I also spend a lot of time thinking about my shots and creating images and I think that's the really good thing about analogue photography: It makes you think more about what you do and why, thus you get a much better understanding of the techniques, composition, etc...I even take notes sometimes when I use my analogue SLR- which shutter speed, which aperture...so I guess I'm not following the "Don't think just shoot rule" of the Lomograpy company at all :)

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